6/11/09

Patensteek or brioche stitch

This day-long knitting fest is held in Bretton Woodsin the Governor Adams Lodge at the base of Loon Mountain.

Crossing the Bridge of Flagson the approach to Bretton Woods

Governor Adams Lodgenestled in the trees at the base of the mountain.

In the morning classes of every variety were held; there was a small vendor mall; a great lunch; and Perri Klass was the guest speaker in the afternoon (but that is a topic for a separate post).I went to the knit-in as an under-study. That is, I took the space of a friend from my knitting group who had a reservation and could not attend because of illness in the family. Eileen, is the guru of my knitting group so as you would imagine, she had selected the most challenging classes. The first of which was learning the 'Brioche' stitch.

I worked very hard; I did not master the stitch. But I became absolutely fascinated with it and I have to say that for a 'newbie' knitter, it was more than a little challenging! To say that I struggled is.....well, an under-statement.

The stitch is typical of Norwegian and Estonian knitting and creates a thick and sturdy fabric as you might imagine would be needed in the cold northern European climate. The instructor had a finished pair of mittens to demonstrate that fact. She also showed a lovely scarf she'd made that had a gentle, fluid design made from a variation of the brioche stitch -- not as thick and fluffy. There are, it seems quite a variety of stitch variations.

Wikipedia says this about the brioche stitch

"Brioche knitting is a family of knitting patterns involving tucked stitches, i.e., yarn overs that are knitted together with a slipped stitch from the previous row. Such stitches may also be made by knitting into the row below (equivalent to the slipped stitch) and dropping the stitch above (equivalent to the yarn over).

The tucked stitches may form a second layer of knitting in front of the first layer, resembling an array of arches or (seen upside-down) of fish scales.

Although warm and beautiful in texture, garments made from brioche knitting have the drawback that the tucked stitches are liable to get caught and be pulled out.

Brioche knitting may have originated in the Middle East. However, the term "brioche" seems to have derived from French slang for "mistake". The name might be a reference to the brioche dinner roll, which is formed of two pieces, one stacked atop the other."

A few other useful resources that I found on the web

From the "Purl Bee", a pattern for a scarf in brioche is hereFrom the "Chattering Magpie, a two-toned cap is found there.

Two things.I will return to next year's knit-in. It was a lovely; a nice group of women from around New England. Very low key, relaxed and easy. Well organized. And, just good fun.

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I live on the Maine coast where I am blessed with the gift of time to do work that nourishes my soul.
These days, I'm practicing slow. . .reading, thinking, looking. . . giving myself the gift of timelessness to listen, learn, watch and just breath.
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